Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 914

Chapter 914

When Diplomacy Doesn’t Work, Try Intimidation

If talking doesn’t succeed, then intimidation is the next step.
And if threats prove ineffective, throwing a fit like that is the only alternative.

In that respect, the elder possessed something far more potent than I did.

Which meant…

“He’s utterly childish.”

Even at his advanced age, he hadn’t matured in the slightest—

Thump!

“Ack!”

I grabbed the back of my head, grimacing from the sting.

“Why did you hit me out of nowhere?!”
“Your eyes were insulting me.”
“When did I—!”

Damn.
Maybe I should consider wearing a mask? How could he possibly tell?

“Hmph.”

Shin Noya brushed off the hand he’d used to strike me and turned back toward the turtle.

“Well, get on with it already.”
“Your lack of shame is truly boundless….”

The turtle let out a heavy sigh and aimed his staff toward us.

“It will last for three days, by Mangye’s measure.”
“Pardon?”
“If you move too abruptly, it may shatter, so be careful.”
“What are you talking about—?”

Before I could finish voicing my confusion—

Whoooosh—!!!

A brilliant light burst from the tip of the staff. Unlike earlier, when it had been directed at the sky, this time it was aimed right at us.

“Ugh!?”

I squeezed my eyes shut against the blinding glare.
Was this an assault? Should I defend? As I hesitated, the radiance began to dim.

Once the light had faded enough, I carefully opened my eyes.

“It is finished.”

The turtle gave a satisfied nod as he looked at me.
Meanwhile, Shin Noya stood beside him, hand over his mouth, trembling with suppressed laughter.

He seemed to be fighting to hold it in.
What was happening? Why was he behaving that way?

Bewildered, I stood in confusion until the turtle pointed his staff behind me.

“Standard methods are ineffective on that one, so this was the optimal solution.”

My eyes naturally followed the direction of his staff.
He was pointing toward where Cheonma stood.

“Huh?”

When I saw her, my eyes widened in disbelief.

“What…?”

Cheonma looked different.
Her overall appearance was unchanged, but… there was something beneath her legs.

What was that?
Could it possibly be—

A tail?

Attached to Cheonma was a fluffy, fur-covered tail.
It was unmistakably a tail.

Noticing the strange sensation, Cheonma glanced behind her.
It wasn’t just attached—she seemed able to control it. She gave the tail a slight wag.

“…Hey, you.”

Why did she suddenly have a tail…?

“Wait.”

Cutting off my own thought, I urgently checked my own lower back.
It wasn’t only her.

“Damn it.”

Something similar to Cheonma’s tail was attached to me as well.
A tail with dark blue fur.

I tried shifting it, and it swayed according to my will.

…What was this?
As I stood speechless, Shin Noya’s restrained laughter finally broke free.

“Snrk… Hah… tails and ears on that face…”

Struggling to contain his amusement, his face flushed red as he forced out the words.

“…Noya, what is this?”

Just as I was about to demand an explanation—

“Hold on…”

What had he just said?
Tails and ears?

A cold sweat formed.
My trembling hand rose toward my head. The moment I made contact—

Squish.

“…”

A soft, spongy sensation met my touch where nothing should be.

Squish. Squish.

“…”

Squish, squish, squish, squish.

“What in the world is this?”

Why could I feel this?
I turned back to Cheonma, but there was nothing on her head.

“Noya…?”

I looked urgently toward Shin Noya.
He had mostly regained his composure, though a faint smirk remained as he spoke.

“Heh… Hah… You heard the turtle say it’s temporary…”
“Choose: laugh or explain.”
“The effect lasts three days. Avoid vigorous movement, or it may fail. And don’t make trouble.”
“…”

He immediately stopped laughing, as if his mockery had been just an act.

…Was he insane?

“What is this?”

The softness on my head, the tail—what did it all mean?

“It’s a precaution to ensure your safety while traveling. Be thankful I went to such lengths.”
“What do you mean, ‘traveling’? Where am I supposed to go?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to find a way back?”
“…!”

I halted at his words.
Returning to Zhongyuan—that had been my intention.

“Also, there’s much I could teach you, but I’m occupied at the moment. There’s work to be done, and it’s quicker for you to experience things firsthand. Just go and return.”
“What are you—”
“I’ve already arranged a guide for you. Travel safely. Turtle.”
“Ah, what a life….”

At Shin Noya’s signal, the turtle raised his staff again.
Sensing the ominous purpose, I shouted in alarm.

“Wait, explain properly—!”

But before I could finish,

Whoooosh—!!!

Light swallowed me again, and my vision dissolved.

When my sight returned, I realized—

“…You’ve got to be joking, you old fool.”

I had been sent back to the world I had first arrived in just days ago.

 

**************

As Gu Yangcheon and the woman disappeared, only Shin Noya and the turtle remained. The turtle rested his staff on his shoulder and looked at Shin Noya.

“I’ve done as you requested, but are you certain about this?”

A clear unease was written across the turtle’s features. Shin Noya smirked as he turned to face him.

“What is there to doubt?”
“I’ve concealed them, but that doesn’t make it foolproof. Especially…”

The turtle leaned in and whispered quietly to Shin Noya.

“If they encounter the master’s gaze beyond the barrier, no further explanation will be needed.”

Shin Noya burst out laughing at the turtle’s words.

“For someone who claims to have brushed the heavens with your spells, you sound remarkably cautious. Weren’t you the one who said they’d be safe for three days?”

“As I always say, Master,” the turtle replied in a low tone.

“Brushing the heavens and truly being the heavens—those are entirely separate matters. Especially in this place.”

To have touched it and to be it were fundamentally different. The turtle’s voice carried a distinct worry, something Shin Noya couldn’t possibly miss.

And yet, Shin Noya found the turtle’s concern amusing.

“You were so openly resistant earlier, and now you’re worried after they’ve left?”

Not long ago, the turtle had dismissed Gu Yangcheon as a monster. Now, after sending him away, his attitude had shifted.

“Worried? Naturally, I’m worried,” the turtle admitted plainly.

Shin Noya raised an eyebrow, surprised by the easy admission. He hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.

“Master, you don’t understand what is bound to that child you brought here,” the turtle said.
“Hm?”

Shin Noya tilted his head, intrigued.

“You call it a curse, but that term is far too narrow and weak to encompass its nature.”
“There you go again, overcomplicating things. Does your shop need to fall down before you speak directly?”
“Just a thread. A single thread,” the turtle emphasized.

“A thread hanging by the most fragile margin—if that snaps…”

It would be inevitable.

The turtle could perceive things others could not, and to his eyes—

“A catastrophe will be born.”

Because to him, Gu Yangcheon truly resembled a monster.

As if to prove his point, the turtle’s worry was not for Gu Yangcheon, but for the Mangye itself.

 

********************

“Damn.”

I muttered the curse, pressing my forehead. Ever since I’d arrived here, it felt like I couldn’t get through a day without swearing.

“Ah, hell….”

Another curse escaped. It didn’t accomplish anything, but it was better than holding it in. Though venting didn’t actually fix things, it provided some small release.

“Damn…”

Just as I was about to let out another, more emphatic curse—

“Damn?”

“…”

I froze at the sound. It wasn’t me.
It was Cheonma who had spoken.

“What does ‘damn’ mean?”

She asked with her usual expressionless face, her gaze fixed on me.
I never imagined she would ask something like that.

“Damn?”

Cheonma repeated the word, tilting her head curiously.
I spoke up, seeing her mimic the word so innocently.

“…Don’t say that.”
“Why not?”
“Just don’t. If I say don’t, then don’t.”
“Alright.”

She nodded obediently.

“Hah… damn…”

I held back another curse, sighing deeply. I glanced sideways at Cheonma. Fortunately, she didn’t seem inclined to copy me this time.

Truthfully, it didn’t matter if she did or not, but I stopped anyway.
Not because I didn’t want to hear her repeating curses.
Absolutely not.

Turning my attention back to the unfamiliar situation, I frowned.

“Damn old man.”

Couldn’t he have at least given me some explanation before tossing me out like that?
And then—

“What is this absurdity?”

Feeling the ears and tail, I barely held back my rising frustration.
Everything else was manageable, but this was the real issue.

Squish.

I touched the newly sprouted ears. The most irritating part was that they felt strangely soft and pleasant.

“Ridiculous.”

Suddenly having ears and a tail felt even more absurd than being thrown out here.

“Hey.”

Cheonma, who had been silently observing me, suddenly spoke.

What now?

“Can I touch them?”
“No.”

I answered without hesitation.

“Really?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“…Alright.”

Cheonma stepped back, a hint of disappointment on her face.

Unbelievable.

Grit.

I clenched my teeth in frustration. How had it come to this?

“What am I supposed to do now?”

What exactly was the old man trying to accomplish by sending me out here?

“What did he say? That he was busy, so I had to see for myself?”

That was more or less what Shin Noya had told me.
As absurd as it sounded, it was what he’d said, so I tried to make sense of it.

But what was I supposed to be seeing?

Questions swirled in my mind.

“Can I get back in?”

I stared into the empty air.
Maybe if I found the same kind of distortion as before, I could break through again.

Focusing on the possibility, I scanned the space intently.

“…Nothing.”

I couldn’t sense anything.
Even with my spiritual sight active, there was nothing. Last time, it had been visible, but now it wasn’t. Why?

“Did the turtle do something?”

The crimson light that had shone from his staff—
Had he done something with it? If not, there weren’t many other explanations.

“Just who is that old man, really?”

Could I even call him an old man? The figure Shin Noya called “Turtle”—
What was he truly?

And more importantly—

“How does he wield spells like that?”

It was an astonishing power.
Just recalling it made me want to witness it again.

“Could I do that too?”

The countless threads and lines of the spell, the way they unfolded…
Even though it felt like my mind would burst trying to comprehend it, the sheer density of information only fueled my curiosity.

“How was it structured?”

I retraced the order and arrangement of the threads.
The spells used by the Jegal family seemed simple in comparison, despite their numerous threads. This was completely different.

“It had too many rules.”

Too many, and too intricate. It wasn’t composed of a single element.
Was that why it had shimmered in so many colors?

I flexed my fingers as I recalled the process.
Step by step, I attempted to reconstruct it in my mind.

Buzz—

The chain around my heart quivered faintly.
Threads of energy began to form at my fingertips like fine silk.

I built upon it, slowly shaping the threads.
I thought I was nearing a replication when—

“…Pardon me.”
“…!”

A voice from behind startled me, and the gathered energy dissipated.

I whirled around.

Because of that, I missed the momentary rainbow-like shimmer as the energy unraveled.

“For heaven’s sake… Who are you?”

I frowned at the figure who had addressed me.

“What are you doing here?”

“…”

The person who had spoken was none other than Gubong, his face marked by a vivid blue bruise.